The Kings Daughter

A Rosary Meditation: The Fourth Glorious Mystery, The Assumption.

“All glorious is the kings daughter as she enters; her raiment is threaded with spun gold.” Psalms 44:14.

Like everything, excepting eternity and God and God’s love, the Assumption had its beginning and its end. In a way Mary’s Assumption had its beginning with her Immaculate Conception. Beyond this there were what we might think of as stages. The Annunciation, the Visitation, and etc. Of course breaking things down in this fashion is just a human way of understanding a thing, or an attempt at understanding. Time, and those of us who live in time, is (I think) a continuous flow. God, and those with Him, aren’t hampered by time and its limiting view. Anyway …

“All glorious is the kings daughter as she enters … ” Think about the word “glorious”. Compare it to, given Mary’s entry into Heaven, the word “ready”.

Do you think Mary was ready for the Assumption the day prior to it? We’d be tempted to say yes, and given her God-given perfection we could say she was always ready. But she wasn’t. Mary had given her heart and will over to God. Always. So she wasn’t ready the day before because He wasn’t. She was only ready in accordance with His timing. A “part” of her perfection (and I’m breaking things down here just for the sake of human understanding again, primarily my own understanding) is found in waiting on God.

Do we ever get ahead of God? Or do we try to hurry things up because that’s the way we want it or think it should be?

“Expect the Lord, do manfully, and let thy heart take courage, and wait thou for the Lord.” Psalms27:14, Douay-Rheims.

Just a thought … There are, metaphorically speaking, a variety of assumptions. There’s an Assumption like Mary’s. It takes place in God’s time, not ours. And then there’s the all to human assumption of thinking that we know best when it comes to the timing of anything.

Death holds no terror

A Rosary Meditation: The Fourth Glorious Mystery, The Assumption.

“For he has so magnified thy name this day, that thy praise shall not depart out of the mouth of men.” Judith 13:25.

Sometimes I think its best to let saints speak. So … From St. Alphonsus de Liguori …

“And now death came; not indeed clothed in mourning and grief, as it does to others, but adorned with light and gladness. But what do we say? Why speak of death? Let us rather say that divine love came, and cut the thread of that noble life. And as a light, before going out, gives a last and brighter flash than ever, so did this beautiful creature, on hearing her Son’s invitation to follow him, wrapped in the flames of love, and in the midst of her loving sighs, give a last sigh of still more ardent love, and breathing forth her soul, expired. Thus was that great soul, that beautiful dove of the Lord, loosened from the bands of this life; thus did she enter into the glory of the blessed, where she is now seated, and will be seated, Queen of Paradise, for all eternity.” Glories, p. 420.

Death isn’t always a terror. For the followers of Christ its a homecoming. That’s no terror. Its a release from the bondage of the world and a prelude to our resurrection. For Mary it all happened at once. I suppose the terror of death stems from a knowledge of sin and its rewards. There was nothing like this in death for Mary. For Mary death meant only to follow her son. She loved him, loves him, enough to want to follow him in all things. This would include death. It would also include her Assumption. He had ascended, under his own power. Remember that her only desire was to follow him. Mary couldn’t ascend into Heaven on her own, but being perfect her love reached Heaven and that left God with what choice? Mary, being sinless, could only be gathered up by God and taken to a Realm where no sin enters, neither can it reign. She couldn’t be left here, her body left to suffer the decay that’s only one result of sin and death. To ever think that there was no such thing as the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is like saying God is not love. And we know better.

“In every nation which shall hear thy name, the God of Israel shall be magnified on occasion of thee.” Judith 13:31.

Just a thought … “She, by an entirely unique privilege, completely overcame sin by her Immaculate Conception, and as a result she was not subject to the law of remaining in the corruption of the grave, and she did not have to wait until the end of time for the redemption of her body.” Pope Pius XII. Consider what a mother we have! So many go, sadly, to a mothers grave, leaving flowers on a birthday or Mothers Day. With Mary as our mother we’ll never be able to do that. There is no grave, there never will be. There is a knowledge that mother has gone on ahead of us. She waits there for us with Him. And death ought never hold a terror for the Christian.

 

Going home to Mother’s

A Rosary Meditation: The Fourth Glorious Mystery, The Assumption.

“Blessed art thou, O daughter, by the Lord the most high God, above all women upon earth.” Judith 13:23.

While the above verse wasn’t necessarily written with Mary in mind it does fit, doesn’t it? And I’d add a little to it. ” … above all women upon earth and in heaven.”

At some point in time we’re all, each and every one of us, die. And we’ll all go home when that happens. Right now, in this life, we get to work on which address will be ours. But that’s another post. Right now we’ll figure we’re going to the right address and go from there.

Jesus said that in his Father’s house were many mansions and he was going to get a place ready for us. In my mind he got the place ready on the cross at Calvary. But it occurs to me that his Father’s house is his Mother’s house too. She is, after all, Queen of Heaven and earth. And she was assumed into Heaven at the end of her time here on earth. When we go home we’ll really be going home. We’ll be going home to Mother’s. Just think about that for a minute. We’ll be at home, His, hers, and ours. We’ll be with Mother Mary. We’ll get to set at her feet and listen to her just as Jesus did as a child. And we’ll learn and grow just as any other child would. But with a difference. This learning and growing will be perfect, just as our Heavenly Father is perfect. And our Heavenly Mother, who has gone on ahead and waits for us now.

So as you’re out and about today remember home, your real one, and think about what it’ll be like to live with Mom.

“Jesus answered, and said to him: If any one love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and will make our abode with him.” John 14:23, Douay-Rheims.

Just a thought … We’ve got a lot to look forward to.

The Assumption. What else could God have done? … Saturday, September 14

Baroque altar of Saint Notburga of Rattenberg. One good reason for having such beautiful altars and artwork dedicated to saints, with all of the attendant honor, is to give honor and thanks to the One who’s Truth and Beauty those saints reflect. When we honor God’s children we honor God’s Child. When we honor God’s Child we give thanks for His mother and ours.

A Rosary Meditation … The Fourth Glorious Mystery, the Assumption. Mary is assumed, body and soul into Heaven. Could God have done anything else? If she had been your mother what would you have done? The fact is she IS your mother. Jesus gave her TO us at Calvary just as He gave Himself FOR us on Calvary. God gave us Mary to be our mother (and Queen) because He knew we’d need one and God provides for all our needs. Christianity, all of it, is a joyous occasion. Having Mary in Heaven, praying for us and watching over us as only the best of mothers can, is a joy. And I think that’s one reason, one out of a grand multitude, that He assumed her into Heaven. If He hadn’t we’d have Mary’s tomb, just as we have the tomb of so many other saints. And what joy is there in a mother’s tomb? Because He lives so does she. So do we.

Today …

St. Notburga is Patroness of poor peasants and servants in the Tyrol. Born in Rattenberg, in the Tyrol, she was the daughter of peasants. At eighteen she became a servant in the household of Count Henry of Rattenberg When Notburga repeatedly gave food to the poor, she was dismissed by Count Henry’s wife, Ottilia, and took up a position as a servant to a humble farmer. Meanwhile, Henry suffering a run of misfortune and setbacks, wasted no time restoring Notburga to her post after his wife died. Notburga remained his housekeeper for the rest of her life, and was famous for her miracles and concern for the poor. In her care for others Notburga was very motherly. Male or female, her’s is a good example to follow.

Consider … In Jesus we see the ultimate “like father like son”. And in Mary we see a very real, and altogether human, “like father like daughter”.

Heavenly perspective … Wednesday, August 28

Portrait of Pope Pius XII in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, Rome.

A Rosary Meditation … The Fourth Glorious Mystery, the Assumption. “We are inspired by the certainty that your eyes which wept over the earth, watered by the Blood of Jesus, are yet turned toward this world, held in the clutch of wars, persecutions, and oppression of the just and the weak.” ~ Pope Pius XII. Mary looks down upon the earth from Heaven now because she was first taken up. She sees the world’s problems from a Heavenly perspective now. And she can help us acquire this better, more lofty, outlook if we’ll ask. We can rise above our problems just as she has, and in the same way. Who was it that lifted Mary up, keeps her in place, and sustains her? The same One will do the same for you and me. Oh, we may not be assumed into Heaven but our attitude, our outlook, our perspective, can be.

Today …

St. Hermes

 

St. Hermes. Martyr with companions in Rome, who suffered at the hands of a judge named Aurelian. They are mentioned in the Acts of Pope St. Alexander I . Their cult was confined to local calendars in 1969. He is invoked against mental illness. Isn’t an earthy, worldly view a sort of mental illness? St. Hermes might be a good prayer partner as we strive for the gift of Heavenly perspective.

Think … “And we, poor sinners, whose body weighs down the flight of the soul, beg you to purify our hearts, so that, while we remain here below, we may learn to see God, and God alone, in the beauties of His creatures.” ~ Pope Pius XII.

Something to sing about … Wednesday, July 24

Queenship of Mary.

A Rosary Meditation … The Fourth Glorious Mystery, the Assumption. “Sing to the Lord a  new song, for He has done wondrous deeds.” Psalm 97:1. Taking a creature and making that creature, that created being, Queen of all creation is a wondrous deed to sing about, isn’t it?

The Saints on Mary’s Queenship:

“No one has access to the Almighty as His mother has; none has merit such as hers. Her Son will deny her nothing that she asks; and herein lies her power. While she defends the Church, neither height nor depth, neither men nor evil spirits, neither great monarchs, nor craft of man, nor popular violence, can avail to harm us; for human life is short, but Mary reigns above, a Queen forever.” ~Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman.

“Just as Mary surpassed in grace all others on earth, so also in heaven is her glory unique. If eye has not seen or ear heard or the human heart conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9), who can express what He has prepared for the woman who gave Him birth and who loved Him, as everyone knows, more than anyone else?” ~St. Bernard of Clairvaux.

“She has surpassed the riches of the virgins, the confessors, the martyrs, the apostles, the prophets, the patriarchs, and the angels, for she herself is the first-fruit of the virgins, the mirror of confessors, the rose of martyrs, the ruler of apostles, the oracle of prophets, the daughter of patriarchs, the queen of angels.” ~St. Bonaventure.

Beautiful lyrics, aren’t they?

Today …

St. Kunegunda

St. Kunegunda (1224-1292) was the daughter of King Bela IV and niece of St. Elizabeth of Hungary. She married King Boleslaus V of Poland at sixteen. On his death in 1279 she became a Poor Clare at the Convent of Sandeck, which she had founded. She also built churches and hospitals, ransomed Christians captured by the Turks, and served the poor and ill. She is also known as St. Kinga. Each of us has our own song to sing praising God for His goodness. Saint Kunegunda sang hers, and these few lines tell us about her tune. When we sing, do we hum or do we shatter glass like a fine opera star? 😉

Sing … “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”

Bluntly, it is just one of THOSE days … Saturday, July 6

“Cat massage” … My life, and welcome to it. 😉

A Rosary Meditation … The Fourth Glorious Mystery, the Assumption. … “According to Romanos the Singer, the BVM replies: “Cease your laments; I will make myself your advocate in my Son’s presence. Meanwhile, no more sadness, because I have brought joy to the world. For it is to destroy the kingdom of sorrow that I have come into the world: I full of grace … Then curb your tears; accept me as your mediatrix in the presence of him who was born from me, because the author of joy is the God generated before all ages. Remain calm; be troubled no longer: I come from him, full of grace.”  Romanos the Singer, On Christmas 2,10-11(ante AD 560),in MCF,327.” … “I come from Him, full of grace.” How can she come from one that she hasn’t gone to and that she doesn’t stand before? And how can she stand before One she is not in the presence of? And being in His presence necessitates her having been taken (assumed) into Heaven because that’s where He is. Mary is a perfect human example for us and is here, being there in Heaven with Jesus, to help us. We should follow her example and want to be taken to Heaven ourselves. We needn’t be “assumed” into Heaven to get there. Mary loves Jesus and God took her to be with Him. If we follow THAT example and love Jesus, when this earthly journey is over we’ll be taken there too.

Today … Well, normally I try to find a saint that I can somehow “match” to the Rosary meditation. As I type this I’m on my net book rather than my computer, which is where my links are bookmarked and etc. I’m on my net book because I’m flat on my back, in bed, with my back. Sciatica. It’s not all that bad, the chiropractor has worked on it and I’ll probably get my acupuncturist to work on it as well. But it’s not all that good either. The point being that I can’t find a saint for today, not being on my computer, and  can’t seem to find a good “this day in Catholic history” either. Maybe everyone was in bed with their back “this day in history”? The cat has been doing his part to help. He knows I’m not supposed to be in bed at this time. I’ve been getting “cat massage”, aka he’s been walking all aver me. So today? Please pray my back gets better. And it will, I go through this from time to time and it always does. But right now, *sigh*, I just wish it would.

St. Francis of Assisi … “What does the poor man do at the rich man’s door, the sick man in the presence of his physician, the thirsty man at a limpid stream? What they do, I do before the Eucharistic God. I pray. I adore. I love.”

God has a daughter … Wednesday, June 19

A Rosary Meditation … The Forth Glorious Mystery, the Assumption. “All glorious is the king’s daughter as she enters; her raiment is threaded with spun gold.” Psalms 44:14. Mary is assumed into Heaven. She enters the Heavenly Jerusalem, Revelation 12:1. This Lady in Revelation? Who else could she be but Mary? And who is she? Just who is Mary? Well, we already know that she is the mother of Jesus, and because Jesus is God (John 1:1) that makes Mary the mother of God, in time, but not in eternity (Luke 1:43). But, who ELSE is she? Mary IS the daughter of God the Father. Of course someone might pipe up and exclaim that God has only ONE Child and that IS JESUS (John 3:16). And its true that He has only ONE begotten Child. But there are others, aren’t there? “Dearly beloved, we are now the sons of God … “, 1 John 3:2b. And again we read, “Who was of Henos, who was of Seth, who was of Adam, who was of God.” Luke 3:38. So God has lots of children. If He doesn’t we’re all in trouble. If you don’t believe that then read Hebrews 12:4-8. So God has a daughter and she is with Him in Heaven. Have you ever noticed how people treat the family of important people? They treat them with respect, they treat them well, don’t they? One reason for this is because they know the family member, being close to the important person, has the important person’s ear. They listen to their family. So they treat the person respectfully. And this is just one reason, but its a good one. Mary is close to God in Heaven now, He took her there to be with Him. She has been assumed up into Heaven. So, how do we treat Mary?

Today … Blessed Alcuin. Benedictine scholar and counselor to Charlemagne, sometimes called Alcuin of York. He was born in York, England, circa 735 and became a monk in the Benedictine Order in York. Ordained a deacon, Alcuin became headmaster of the cathedral school. He went to Rome and then met Charlemagne at Parma. Charlemagne invited Alcuin to become the minister of education for the Frankish court. Alcuin also founded a school and tutored the emperor. Upon retiring from the court, he became the abbot of St. Martin of Tours Monastery, reforming the house with St. Benedict of Aniane. Alcuin was listed in martyrologies as a Blessed. He was known for his holiness and scholarly wisdom, writing theological and liturgical treatises, and for his contributions to the so-called Carolingian Renaissance. Alcuin knew Charlemagne, head of the Empire. How do you think people treated Alcuin? Maybe he would be a good one to talk with about how we should treat Mary.

Think …

Reflections … Saturday, June 1

Calvary in Katowice Panewniki, Chapel of the Rosary – The fourth glorious mystery “Assumption of Mary”. Completed in 1963.

A Rosary Meditation … The Fourth Glorious Mystery, The Assumption. “And the moon was under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.” Revelation 12:1. It’s fitting that the moon should be under Mary’s feet. The moon has no light of its own, it reflects the light of the sun. This reflection is the only reason we see the moon, it wouldn’t be visible otherwise. What saint is there, including the Queen of all saints, that would attract our attention on their own? In Heaven, and here in Revelation we see Mary in Heaven which fact proves her Assumption, everyone and everything reflects the only light there is. “And the city hath no need of the sun, nor of the moon, to shine in it. For the glory of God hath enlightened it, and the Lamb is the lamp thereof.” Revelation 21:23. Everything is secondary to the Light that is Christ. “In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” John 1:4. Mary knew this on earth, she knows it in Heaven. Her being there gives glory to God and reflects for us His Mercy, Grace, Goodness, and Love towards all of us. We should all desire, as Mary does, to be this sort of beacon to those around us. We should all strive, praying for the grace to be mirrors in which people can view the goodness of the True Light. Let us reflect on that.

Today …

St. Tegla

The otherwise unknown patron saint of a church and well in Ciwyd, Wales. We don’t even know when this person died. I’m not sure if they were male or female given the description I found. Isn’t that wonderful? Nothing about them gets in the way of Jesus, no facts about their life obscures our view of Him. And the only reason we even know this saint existed is because they were and are followers of Jesus. We ought to all want to be this kind of saint, reflecting the Light of Christ and nothing else.

Quote … “Immaculate Mother of God, the ever-virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.” ~ Pope Pius XII ~

“Mirror, mirror on the wall … ” … Wednesday, May 15

The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun (Rev. 12 1-4) – by William Blake.

A Rosary Meditation … The Fourth Glorious Mystery, the Assumption. “And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun.” Revelation 12:1. Here is Mary, and she “appears” in Heaven. If you make an appearance in one place you were obviously someplace else before the appearance. And this verse is a not-so-veiled reference to the Assumption. This verse also describes her. “A woman clothed with the sun.” Consider: “And the city hath no need of the sun, nor of the moon, to shine in it. For the glory of God hath enlightened it, and the Lamb is the lamp thereof .” Revelation 21:23. There is no “sun” as such in Heaven. All light comes from Christ. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him: and without him was made nothing that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” John 1:1. If anyone was ever totally wrapped up in this Light it was Mary. Like Mother like Son. Now the question is: What are we all wrapped up in? The world and the goings on around us? It’s easy to get all wrapped up in such things, isn’t it? But there’s another question that if asked and answered honestly tells us what we’re all wrapped up in. And that question is: Whose child are you? Remember, like mother like son. And that pertains directly to us. You can tell what a person is all wrapped up in by simple observation. That’s not being judgmental, it’s just keeping our eyes open. “Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them.” Matthew 7:20. Now, with our eyes open, all we need to do is go look in a mirror. “Mirror, mirror on the wall … ”

Today …  St. Dymphna

St. Dymphna, my Patroness. 🙂

     Dymphna was fourteen when her mother died. Damon, her father, is said to have been afflicted with a mental illness, brought on by his grief. He sent messenger throughout his town and other lands to find some woman of noble birth, resembling his wife, who would be willing to marry him. When none could be found, his evil advisers told him to marry his own daughter. Dymphna fled from her castle together with St. Gerebran, her confessor and two other friends. Damon found them in Belgium. He gave orders that the priest’s head be cut off. Then Damon tried to persuade his daughter to return to Ireland with him. When she refused, he drew his sword and struck off her head. She was then only fifteen years of age. Dymphna received the crown of martyrdom in defense of her purity about the year 620. She is the patron of those suffering from nervous and mental afflictions. Many miracles have taken place at her shrine, built on the spot where she was buried in Gheel, Belgium.

     Prayer: Hear us, O God, Our Savior, as we honor St. Dymphna, patron of those afflicted with mental and emotional illness. Help us to be inspired by her example and comforted by her merciful help. Amen.

     Think … The reflection in our mirror ought to remind the world more of Christ than of us.